Busted Racquet

Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam events during her professional tennis career. She remains the youngest person to win the French Open and the youngest to reach the world No. 1 ranking. Her list of accomplishments is long, yet when she thinks of her playing days, she often thinks first of something few people know about: Seles battled an eating disorder for the majority of her career.

After matches and practices, the Yugoslavian star would go back to her hotel room and empty the mini bar snacks. Potato chips, pretzels, and cookies were her Achilles’s heel. She thought the binges were an emotional reaction to her stabbing (she was stabbed by a fan of rival Steffi Graf in 1993, forcing her to miss two years on tour) and her father's illness.

She now knows that she was actually battling Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Officially named a medical condition in 2013 – but recognized by doctors for many years before that – it is the most common eating disorder among U.S. adults. More than 2.8 million Americans battle BED every year.

Serena Williams will play at Indian Wells this year, a tournament she and her sister Venus have avoided since 2001. The tournament isn't just any run-of-the-mill event: it's the largest combined WTA/ATP two-week contest outside of the four Grand Slams.

Recent champions include world No. 2 Maria Sharapova and No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki. It's also the tournament where Serena won her first professional match and where she and Venus played their first big tournament together.

Serena has often said that she would never return to the California venue because she was overwhelmed by fan criticism and an "undercurrent of racism" during the 2001 final, when she was just 19 years old. But as she writes in an essay for TIME magazine,she is now ready to move forward.

There was never much doubt that Serena Williams would defeat Maria Sharapova in the final at the Australian Open. As soon as the matchup was set, everyone noted that Sharapova has not beaten Williams in more than a decade.

On Saturday, Williams kept the streak alive, beating the world No. 2 in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), as she captured her record sixth Australian Open title and 19th Grand Slam.

Sharapova played her best game. She had only 15 unforced errors – the same total she had in earlier matches, against easier opponents. Against Williams, it proved too many.

Serving made the biggest difference in the match, with Williams hitting 18 aces to Sharapova's five. Sharapova held off two match points before Williams clinched the win.

In doing so, Serena became the oldest Grand Slam champion in the Open era. She is 33 years old, and moved ahead of Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert on the all-time wins list.

"Standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen. I went on the courts with just a ball, a racket, and a hope. That's all I had. Never give up. You never know what's going to happen."

Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych faced off in the first semifinal match of the 2015 Australian Open. It was a battle, with Murray eventually prevailing in four sets, 6-7, 6-0, 6-3, 7-5.

Murray was fired up throughout the match, often swearing on the court, as he's known to do.

But it was his fiancee who might have stolen the show. Shortly after Murray broke Berdych in the third set, Kim Sears, a 27-year-old British artist, daughter of a former coach and Murray's soon-to-be betrothed, sent choice words towards Berdych. It was captured in a Vine.

Serena Williams has never lost in the Ausralian Open once reaching the semifinals. On Thursday she kept the streak alive, defeating fellow American Madison Keys in the semifinal to reach her sixth Australian Open final.

Keys was on a tremendous run of her own, advancing beyond the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her young career. Just 19 years old, she defeated No. 4 Petra Kvitova and No. 18 Venus Williams en route to the semis.

She continued fighting as she faced off against Williams on Thursday, both of them wearing neon green and pink Nike outfits. The first set went to a tiebreak, with Williams prevailing 7-5 to claim the advantage. In the second set, Keys held off nine match points before finally faltering.

The final score, 7-6, 6-2, hardly indicates how hard Keys made Williams work to make it to her sixth Australian Open final and first since 2010. The younger American hit more winners than Williams (27-19) and had 12 aces, but she did herself in with 39 unforced errors.

Madison Keys continued her dream run through the Australian Open on Tuesday, this time defeating one of her childhood idols en route to the semifinals. It took three sets, but unranked Keys beat No. 18 Venus Williams, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Trailing 4-1 in the second set, Keys needed a medical timeout to receive treatment on her left thigh. It seemed to do the trick, as she then came back and broke Venus' serve twice to even the score at 4-all. But Venus had some fight left in her, as she answered with her own break and served out the set.

In the third, Venus jumped out to a 3-1 lead, seemingly in control of the match. But Keys again rallied back. She earned three straight breaks to close out the win. Overall, Keys had 34 winners and 45 unforced errors; Venus had 10 winners and 38 unforced errors.

"It's amazing, you just have to embrace the moment," Keys said after the match. "And I get to enjoy another moment next round."

To advance to her first Grand Slam final, Keys will have to beat No. 1 Serena Williams, who advanced to the next round with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Dominika Cibulkova.

Rafael Nadal held off three match points in the quarterfinal, but he couldn't hold on to the match. Tomas Berdych closed out a straight-set upset, 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) over the 14-time Grand Slam champion.

Berdych held a 6-5 lead in the third set with Nadal serving. He nearly converted the break for the win, at one point leading 30-0, but Nadal finally showed some fight. The No. 3 seed rallied back to hold off two match points and force a tiebreak.

Berdych then jumped to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak before Nadal rallied back to 5-4. At 6-4, Nadal again held off match point. But finally, on his fourth opportunity, Berdych put the match away.

He credited his strong start as the difference in the match, adding that he fed off the momentum of the entire first week.

"I think it's all the way through the tournament, you're not going to get it after one night, you have to build it up," he said after the match.

Asked what has inspired her during this run, Williams said, "Definitely my sister Serena, she's just the ultimate champion. And definitely a lot of inspiration from all my fans who have stayed behind me through thick and thin."

Venus will play 19-year-old American Madison Keys, who defeated fellow American Madison Brengle, 6-4, 6-2, in the round of 16. Keys was just 13 the last time Venus won a Grand Slam.

"I'm just really excited. It's a huge opportunity for me," Keys said. "I think Venus has helped the sport, especially the women's side with equal prize money. She was a huge part of that. Just watching her is inspirational."

Young American Madison Keys knocked off No. 4 Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, to punch her ticket to the fourth round. With the win, Keys becomes the fourth American moving on to that stage – the most to do so at the Australian Open since 2003.

Keys, 19, showed off her strength in the match, catching Kvitova on her heels on one shot after the next. She got the all-important break in the 11th game, setting her up to serve out the win.

"I think my hands are still shaking. I'm really happy that I served that game out so well," she said in her on-court interview. "Right now I can't even process anything. I'm just so excited." The interviewer asked her to say more, but she couldn't find the words.

This trumps her personal best in a Grand Slam event – she had twice advanced to the third round in Melbourne and once at Wimbledon. This is her third full year on the tour; she made her U.S. Open debut in 2011 and played in Australia in 2012 before missing the rest of the 2012 slams.

Keys will face another young American, who happens to share the same first name, in the next round.

The Williams sisters are moving on to the fourth round of the Australian Open, winning their singles matches just minutes apart on Friday (or Saturday, in Australia).

For Venus Williams, the three-set, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1, win over Camila Giorgi ensured her first trip to the fourth round of a Grand Slam event since 2011 Wimbledon. The 34-year-old danced to the music playing in the stadium after the match, clearly basking in the moment.

Giorgi came within two points of winning in the second set before Venus stormed back.

"Well, this old cat has a few tricks left," she said in her on-court interview. Moving on "feels fantastic especially when things happen in your life and it's not in your control, so it definitely feels awesome to be here, and I don't want to leave it at that. I'll try to keep going."

She'll face No. 6 Agnieszka Radwanska in her next match.

As Venus made her way off court, her younger sister was making a comeback of her own on the Rod Laver Arena court – a comeback inspired by Venus's match.